Internal debates ignite over whether Edmonton rushed to hire Mike Babcock while Bruce Cassidy lingered. One scribe and author suggests it wasn't that simple.
A storyline is surfacing that, had the Edmonton Oilers waited a week, they could have been given permission to speak with Bruce Cassidy of the Vegas Golden Knights and hired him as their next head coach. Instead, they pivoted, interviewed Mike Babcock, and brought him in with the blessing of the Oilers leadership group.
Veteran sports broadcaster Rod Pedersen reported, if the Oilers had waited just one more week in June, they would have landed their first choice.
Former Oilers scribe and book author Rob Soria isn't convinced Cassidy was their first choice.
He posted on Tuesday, "I get many an Oilers fan and/or media types would like this to be the case, but I genuinely believe Babcock was on their short list. Had they got an interview with Cassidy, IMO, that did not mean he was automatically being hired." He added, "Like it or not, they got the guy they wanted."
The reality is, Cassidy was never made available to the Oilers. As such, we'll never know how close GM Stan Bowman was to hiring him. And, as Soria points out, even if Cassidy had been allowed to interview, does that mean he was a lock to be hired? No.
Soria added, "Babcock was always going to be part of their equation. I take those in the organization at their word, who have repeatedly said he was the guy they wanted."
What's interesting is the "they" in this equation. What we know is that Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman all pushed for this. What we may not know is if this was their idea and the organization was hesitant, or if this was a move pushed by ownership and the leadership group had to get on board.
It could be a bit of both.
As is, Cassidy remains without a coaching job and is being paid by the Golden Knights to sit out his deal. Babcock got a big offer from the Oilers (we still don't know how much), and he's getting the ball in a season that matters an awful lot.
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